About ISHIB

The International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB) is a unique, not-for-profit, professional, medical, membership society, whose mission is to improve the health and life expectancy of ethnic minority populations around the world.

ISHIB delivers to an international community of individuals, agencies, and organizations representing multiple health disciplines within the medical arena, targeting not only African Americans but other under-served populations as well.

ISHIB is devoted to reaching the professional health care and lay communities through its mission, scientific excellence, programs, health information and publications.

In 1986, propelled by disproportionate rates of hypertension among Blacks, Drs. Dallas Hall, Neil Shulman, and Elijah Saunders set out to improve health for all ethnic populations. With the publishing of the book, Hypertension in Blacks: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Treatment, and a gathering of medical researchers, the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks, Inc. emerged.

During its early years, the Society worked to conduct annual research conferences, bringing the latest approaches to cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment to both US and international researchers. The Society’s first efforts brought its founding fathers and board members to Kenya, where the annual conference served as a model for years to come. In Kenya, conference participants not only attended to learn and teach, but they also took their healthcare knowledge to the local community. Conference participants visited Kenyan villages, worked with local healthcare professionals, and talked with villagers about ways to stay healthy.

ISHIB has continued the tradition of bringing medical research to healthcare professionals from around the world, and to the communities in which the conference is held. Subsequent conferences have been held in Las Croabas, Puerto Rico; Toronto, Ontario Canada; Charleston, South Carolina; Detroit, Michigan; London, England United Kingdom; New Orleans, Louisiana; the US Virgin Islands; Cleveland, Ohio; Cameroon; Long Beach, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Brazil; and several meetings in Atlanta, Georgia.